Carter: Not enough Iraqi or Syrian recruits to train for ISIL fight

Iraq is providing too few recruits for the U.S. training program in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, while the U.S. is also having trouble recruiting enough “moderate” Syrians to join the opposition force that President Barack Obama eventually wants to deploy across the border, Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned Congress on Wednesday.

In Iraq, the U.S. has only been able to train about 7,000 soldiers and 2,000 counter terrorism forces out of 24,000 that it planned, Carter told the House Armed Services Committee. Even some of Iraq’s military units supposedly ready for battle lack personnel and are manned by “ghost soldiers,” he said.

Story Continued Below

Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey repeated their view that Baghdad bears the main responsibility for the state of the campaign.

“As I’ve told Iraqi leaders, while the United States is open to supporting Iraq more than we already do, we must see a greater commitment from all parts of the Iraqi government,” Carter testified.

But they insisted the U.S. strategy for the war is the right one — relying on local allies to battle ISIL on the ground while supporting them with weapons and American air power.

Republicans on the committee, however, sought to place the blame recent gains by the militant group on President Obama, who they argue should be doing more militarily. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry cited Obama’s comment last week that he didn’t have a “complete strategy” for fighting ISIL. The administration has been stuttering along and focusing on tactical adjustments, he said, not developing and executing a comprehensive vision for the war.

“The situation in the Middle East has deteriorated substantially in the last six years,” the Texas Republican said. “There seems to be nothing coming from the White House to change that trajectory.”

He also played down the recent announcement that the president authorized the deployment of an additional 450 U.S. troops to Iraq, on top of roughly 3,100 American military adviser already there.

“I know of no one who thinks that 450 more in Iraq under current constraints will turn the tide against ISIS,” he said.

The additional U.S. advisers troops are heading to al Taqqadum military base in Anbar Province to reach out to local Sunni tribesmen in the hopes of bringing them into the fight — and they’re getting a good response, Carter said.

What’s important is that Washington and Baghdad bring Anbar’s Sunni fighters into the conflict against ISIL, Carter said, and not increase the American troop presence any more than necessary.

“The numbers are not as significant as the location,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the the U.S.-led training program us “is turning around — and it has to stay turned around.”

Efforts to train allies in Syria are facing similar problems.

“We have enough training sites. We don’t have enough trainees to fill them,” Carter told the House Armed Services Committee. The U.S. is applying a stringent process to screen “moderate” Syrians to ensure those fighters who join will be reliable, he said, which is one reason why the process is taking so long.

Carter and Dempsey responded to a question from Illinois Democrat Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who said she had many reservations about the Syrian train-and-equip program for which Congress authorized $500 million last year. How will the U.S. support the “moderate” units once they’re in combat, she asked. Who will continue to supply them with NATO-grade ammunition, she asked, given they’ll be using U.S. or European-style rifles as opposed to Russian-style AK-47s?

Dempsey said the administration is determining the answers to these and other outstanding questions but hasn’t yet arrived at any conclusions.